On May 1, 1983 Israeli pilot Ziv Nedivi was flying his F15D Eagle on a training exercise when it collided in mid air with an A4 Skyhawk.
The pilot of the Skyhawk was automatically ejected and his aircraft disintegrated. The right wing of the Eagle was sheared off roughly 2 ft. from the root. Nedivi did not initially realize the extent of the damage, as fuel leaking profusely and vaporizing at the wing attachment was obscuring the view of the area where the wing once was.
The F-15 started rolling uncontrollably after the collision, so the pilot attempted recovery by engaging the afterburner, and eventually regained control of the aircraft.
He was able to maintain control because of the lift generated by the large areas of the fuselage, stabilators, and remaining wing.
The F-15 landed in a nearby airbase at twice the normal speed to maintain the necessary lift, and its tailhook was torn off completely during the landing. Nedivi managed to bring his F-15 to a complete stop approximately 20 ft. from the end of the runway.
It was then that he saw the real extent of the damage. The right wing of the aircraft hadn’t been present for the last ten miles of the flight.
The same F15 had originally scored 4 ATA kills in 1982 and after being repaired, it shot down another Mig in 1985. #IronEagle #stayzero #zerofoxtrot